Thursday, September 30, 2010

Making plans for tomorrow. Should be a lot of fun. Mike is willing to meet Steven at Middle Grove in the evening to help with bringing Walker Sally's filly and Lily's filly home for weaning. But..we haven't heard from Steven yet, hopefully he is interested in helping.My truck will be taken out early on Friday for feeding, the living quarter trailer hooked up and brought to Bridlewood for packing. Both cotton candy machines will be packed along with all the supplies needed for selling. Duke will be loaded up and it will be off to the Hanna City farm to pick up Jenis and Paris along with tack for all 3 horses. Hope Karin or someone can help with the tack, I'm never sure what goes on which horse. 4 bales of hay need to be loaded along with a way to water the horses. We will also need the wheelbarrow and manure fork in case of any accidents.Then it will be off to the Old School Center to start setting up for Saturday.This morning the odor of manure was wafting throughout the farm and as soon as I drove up it was obvious why. Mike finally got the yanmar back and started using it. He made numerous piles in the paddocks that we are hoping to hire Steven to move now that the skid steer is back.Once the horses were fed it was down to work where boxes and boxes of Bibles were hauled into the office, taken out of the boxes, labeled and stamped then hauled to the post office. The next job was to collect the change from the washers and dryers at Bridlewood apartments. There was only $740.00 in all 8 machines for 2 and a half months. Not so good, there must be a lot of empty apartments or people are taking their laundry to their parents house, hey it happens!Shower plans for Janell Schaefer were discussed and candy picked up, had to try that out to make sure it was good enough, it was. Now it is time to make a list of all the groups and people grading the Bible studies for Uncle Ed. The Berean Banquet is Saturday and he wants the info today.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Dr. Hoerr called a little after 2:00pm to say he was on the way. Rohan was brought out and given a bath first for his health check. He had been playing in the mud with Caden.Then Steven went over to the cabin to bring back the girls for their ultrasounds.Izadora and Sanna were let out to graze while we were waiting.Izadora is so black and shiny and in wonderful shape for her upcoming foaling. Sanna just loves to be out grazing.Chloe was brought out and played with. All 4 feet are picked up every day and sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. She still needs to be reminded at her young age to stand quietly when the back hooves are picked up. She has never offered to kick just sometimes will lose her balance and put the hoof down to quick. She was tied to wait for Dr. Hoerr for her coggins and health check.Steven brought Star out to lunge him a bit. It was nice to see him so full of energy.When Dr. Hoerr arrived, he sonagramed Jenis first, then Ylse and finally Ribbon.Jenis is due Aug 13th, and Ylse is due July 23rd. We are thankful they were both sonagramed in foal. Ylse's we could even see a heart beat. Looking at the monitor in the middle of the picture is the foal.We knew Ribbon was in season but wanted to find out why she is not settling.After checking her out, Dr. Hoerr found fluid in her uterus. She was cultured, then infused with an antibiotic. We will find out the results Friday.Just as Dr. Hoerr was ready to leave this truck and barn showed up.Ralph and Jamie are putting this temporary building up. This will make a nice barn for their new place.The mares were put back, Steven moved in round bales, then headed over to Rachel's were he has been hired to teach Xena ground manners. When we got back Karin had moved the fire engine out of the arena and was cantering Ribbon. I was very impressed with how balanced she canters. She jumped off and Sarah Reinhard jumped on for some pictures.

Below is an ad for a Raven daughter out of a Trakehner mare:"Salsa" is an exceptional young show prospect; she is the complete package, looks, movement, personality, and work ethic. She went to her first dressage show this spring with only 40 days of riding on her and she placed 2nd in Intro B with a score of 59. She is a SHOW STOPPER, WOW MOVER! Salsa has not been pushed hard in her training and was not started under saddle until she was three. She is 100% SOUND, has not had any health issues, never had any colic or even a runny nose. She ties, clips, bathes, and loads in a 2h straight load bumper pull (she will walk into anything), is great for the farrier, and falls asleep when getting her mane pulled. I am super picky about ground manners and expect my horses to be VERY polite, Salsa is very well mannered and respects personal space. She has never bucked or reared; her idea of spooking is stopping and looking at something, then going on. She has been ridden on trails and could care less about all the new sights; she is not "looky". She has been turned out with other mares and geldings as well as other babies (she helped with the weaning process of her younger sister and was wonderful with her) and she always comes to the gate to be caught. She is the nice kind that when you show her something once she tries and tries until she gets it figured out, she is very serious about her job and has the work ethic of a 5-6yo... and she is not marish at all. THIS IS A MUST SEE HORSE!!! price: $7000.00 Email for additional pictures and video. Price is firmFor the other information she was born in 2007, she is 17 hands tall, and she is registered with FSHR. To contact her owner call Megan Galloway at 256-309-9994In other news there was a phone call waiting for me from West Virginia, a man that used to show spotted drafts now has a Friesian mare he would like to breed to Raven in the spring. We are pretty thrilled of all the Friesian stallions in America he picked RAVEN!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

We all met at Riverplex where the kids had a volley ball game scheduled. It is a very competitive league and they all seemed to be having a lot of fun.After the game we headed to Old Chicago for dinner. Just had to take a picture of the roses, they are just beautiful right now. The rose beds around the river front are all planted in the horse manure Bridlewood stable provides to the city. Just look at the beauty that blooms out of this very valuable commodity.Our dinner was slow in coming but delicious once finally in front of us.When one has a child that is 32 years old, it means the parents are REALLY getting up in age or as Karin would say we must be at the dropping off point.

Cathie was giving Grace a lesson on Duke and I was able to snap a few pictures of the lesson.She had the pair trotting around the arena going over poles.When she was done with the lesson she asked Grace if she would like to canter him and Grace broke out in a BIG SMILE.Duke is turning into a wonderful lesson pony!

Met this lady today under very unfortunate circumstances. Kathleen is riding cross country from Oregon to New Jersey. She was riding down 116 from Hanna City going towards Peoria when her horse fell on her. They were just crossing a driveway that had been resurfaced and neither she nor her horse realized how slippery it was. Down went the bay mare right on top of Kathleen. Once I pulled off the road, the mare was able to get up and Kathleen was able to stand. Her knee and ankle were in pain but she was more concerned with her horse. I led the bay mare away from her, turned her and led her straight back right along a very busy 116 and she seemed fine. Kathleen and the 2 horses; Mystic age 12 and Mystic's 4 year old daughter Delightful were only going to go another half mile down 116, then stay the night at Staley's place so the decision was made to lead both horses down. Kathleen refused the offer to ride in the car, felt she needed to try to walk off the pain. To read more about her journey copy and paste the link below: http://sewardindependent.com/main.asp?SectionID=43&SubSectionID=46&ArticleID=2517

Brigitte from Ontario Canada bought Ylse's 2009 filly and sent this update:Hi Judy, I got Meike (what is now Eyjeka) registered in the Netherlands friesian- studbook 2.I send you the copy because through the DNA they listed a lot of her breed-line, and I thought you may be interested if you do not have them yourself.Eyjeka developed very well, she is growing so much that I sold my trailer to buy a higher one. she is a tall girl ,very friendly, smart and always hungry.English is Brigitte's second language and we are always amazed at how well she communicates. Thank you Brigitte for sending along both the picture and the FPS papers. Eyjeka is proof that Ylse and Raven are a good match, she is gorgeous!The papers will also be posted on Ylse's page on the website which will allow them to be read without straining one's eyes.

We are meeting tonight for our oldest son's birthday. David is now 32 years old. Below is an email that came from him this morning:Rhoda, I'm driving your car to the game and Stef will drive me home after she gets off work. If you can't drive it home send mom or dad. you owe me 182.00. Pay now or I'll break your thumbs. Love, David. One can tell he is serious by the picture above.

When I saw this, I started laughing! The rest of the story is that David's car had to go into the shop for repairs, he borrowed Rhoda's Impala but that had a muffler problem that needed repaired. David took care of that for her.Mike and Ebby joined Rachel and I for the walk this morning. Thank goodness this caused Rachel to slow down enough so I could BREATH. Rachel is WAY younger and in MUCH better shape, if she is walking because she wants exercise she will need to walk with the nieces, us old folks like to visit and can't talk if we can't breath.Rohan had a snotty nose this morning, no temp and full of energy so hopefully it's just a cold. A nursing foal gets all kinds of immunities from the mother's milk, once weaned is when things show up. At least he has plenty of time before leaving for his new home to get over it.

Mom, Beth, Diane, Joan and Faith are having a very nice time in Gulf Shores. Diane sent these pictures last night. This is going make Nate want to join them something awful. But the rule is on THIS trip, No BOYS! sorry Nate.Below is what mom caught right off the beach. She just walks out her condo back door, down the steps and she is ready to fish.Joan just had to get in on the act and threw her pole out, it wasn't long before she got a bite.Sure looks like it is giving her a good fight. And this is what she pulled in. Nate would know exactly what kind of fish and mom probably knows, I think it is some kind of mackerel.Yesterday started out in the low 40's here and the high was only 63 degrees, seeing them on the sugar white sands of Gulf Shores in the sunshine wearing swimsuits is like rubbing salt in the wound for all of us that have to stay home.

Heritage bank was called to see if the wire transfer had come in yet for Chloe and it had not yet been wired into our account. The teller was asked how long it typically takes to receive a wire transfer from Canada as Lori told me she would have it wired early afternoon, and her answer was kind of disappointing. She explained because the transfer must go through the federal reserve it can take up to 2 days to go through. The last person to wire money was the lady that bought Ylse's 2009 filly also from Canada and it went through the same day so we don't know what has changed. Probably more rules and regulations and of course that leads to more fees the government will expect to be paid. We've been getting some name suggestions for Walker Sally's filly. Gisella, Halley, and Iris but I'm not sure any of them fit her. She is a little spitfire, prances around like she owns the field. She does not like to be caught and so far does not like us around her mom. All of this will change once She and Sally are brought in from Middle Grove she WILL get an education on how to behave. I was trying to find an updated picture of her and finally realized because we did not breed Sally back she has been at Middle Grove since she was 5 or 6 days old. If she ends up anything like her older sisters she is going to be fantastic!Dr. Hoerr is coming on Wednesday afternoon instead of coming Monday the 4th. With Chloe needing a new coggins before leaving for Cananda on Oct 11th or 12th we want to make sure we have plenty of time for the paper work to get back. Right now we have him scheduled for Jenis, Ylse and Ribbon's ultrasound but now with Ribbon back in season wondering if we cancel her or still have her done to see if there is anything stopping her from conceiving. If it wasn't for Alesia sending updated pictures of Princess we would probably not even try but Princess is SO beautiful we may as well try for another.After seeing the above picture can anyone blame us for trying again!

Star and Chloe were anxiously waiting to be fed this morning. This may have been the first time Chloe was ever in a stall all night. Once they were fed it was over to the 2 young boys, Caden and Rohan. They actually started calling when the car drove up, they are smart little things, knowing car = people & people = food.While Chloe was finishing up the little grain she was given, her feet were picked up and handled. She was a little sensitive but didn't move away.Rachel was the only other walker, the rest are in Gulf Shores. It's not easy walking with Rachel, she REALLY moves, keeping up with her one cannot talk and walk, takes too much breath.We have a funeral scheduled on Tuesday which means because of work, someone else must take my place. The first person called was Carolee Unsicker and she was glad to sing. TSC still needs to be visited, at least one bag of bedding MUST be purchased to replace the bag borrowed from Bridlewood and a bag of equine senior picked up for the 2 young boys. Rohan is now scheduled for pickup on October 19th instead of October 5th and we don't want him to lose any weight before leaving. TSC not only has equine senior, they have equine junior which is perfect for Caden and Rohan. A bag of that was picked up along with the bedding owed to Bridlewood and Pat Wagner also had me pick up some medication for Solo's thrush.The bedding dropped off at Bridlewood, the med's given to Pat and off to the farm again today where the boys were fed the new feed.UPDATE: By the time the farm was reached with the grain, Ribbon is hanging out in the shelter looking longingly at Raven, her sonagram is scheduled for Oct 4th and unfortunately we do not want to breed her at this time, it will mess up her vaulting schedule so if she is in we will just wait until next year.Izadora was let out for some grazing but instead of going for the grass headed over to visit with Raven first.We still do not have Walker Sally's filly named. Once that is done the registration papers can be sent in for her along with Ayanna, Independence, and Caden.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Church was such a blessing, morning service was Nile Bucher, then the group Hallelujah sang to us. This group of 13 sang a variety of familiar songs just beautifully. Afternoon service was Ron Kipfer, we were all sorry to see him sit down. He spoke on the difference between Saul's and David's repentance and even though David's sin was so much greater than Saul's, it was the true repentance of David that God was pleased with.Today was a farm free day, no driving out, no worrying allowed, so after church Mark and I loaded up the dogs and headed for Jubilee State Park. We didn't start out very well, poor Emma got her tail shut in the car door, started yelping and bleeding. Once we got the bleeding stopped, we decided to go on and took the dogs down a path to the creek where we let them go. They sounded like horses with their splashing, jumping, and running. This served a couple of purposes, it cleaned all the blood off Emma's tail and legs and gave both dogs drinks. They were called back and the real hike began. A huge buck was standing in the middle of one trail but by the time the camera was out he took off. We ended up on a very wet muddy narrow horse trail when Mark found this horse shoe.After sloshing through this trail we see why horses lose their shoes. We finally found a decent trail that led down to a smaller creek where the dogs were allowed to play for a bit.Darcy had the best time running through the creek.We hiked about a hour and a half before heading home. Once Rhoda got home from Taylor we had her look at poor Emma's tail as every time she would wag her tail blood would splatter all over our clothes, the floor and chairs. Rhoda had it wrapped within 2 minutes, she is amazing.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

About 4:45 our first guest started arriving. Just about then I realized the bread still needed to be picked up from Avanti's. Mark graciously drove to pick up the 10 loaves ordered. The kids all started showing up right at 5:00pm. They were herded into the living room so the kitchen could become a work area. Darlene and Ken Hoerr brought the salad and Darlene put it together on the kitchen block. Marvin and Gail brought all the drinks so Gail started putting ice in cups and pouring. The lasagna was cut and put back in the oven until after the prayer. Mark showed up with the bread just a few minutes after 5:00pm. He was sent out to arrange for someone to have the prayer. The food line actually moved along pretty well and within 15 minutes all 35 were sitting down eating. The playroom was the adult room, Even the 2 adults that were in the living room ended up crowding in the playroom after the meal for some visiting. We ran out of chairs and Rhonda had to sit on a igloo water cooler, notice how much higher she is sitting than the rest of the group. With Rhonda being one of the shortest in the room it was about time she had a chance to look down on everyone.Such a great group of kids from Bluffton, IN and Peoria, IL. Nice to hear the excited visiting of friends.The dining room table fit 15, the table in the living room fit 8.The Bluffton group needed to be at the Skyline home by 7:00pm so started loading up around 6:30pm. Once everyone was gone, the dogs were allowed back into the house and given 3 of the empty lasagna pans to clean out.Darcy was following hers all over the kitchen and finally got it stuck in the hallway corner where it couldn't move so could be licked out perfect before throwing it away.Emma had hers torn to shreds by the time she had all the delicious stuck on lasagna licked clean off every piece of pan.I have one more load of laundry to finish and right now I'm procrastinating. Just don't want to run back upstairs to empty the dryer. It was really a nice evening. Mark went to the home with the group and will be heading to Ken and Darlene's after the singing for more refreshments. Really looking forward to church tomorrow. Hope the kids will sing not just for the jail services but in afternoon church also. AND hopefully we get to hear Ron Kipfer again!Other news is Mom, Diane, Beth, Joan and Faith left at 3:30am this morning and made it down to the gulf in 13.5 hours. They walked down to Bahama Bob's for dinner.

Jenny sent these pictures of Sally and Glory in their new home. They look like they are in Horse Heaven, lots of lush green pasture and room to run.Below is their companion, Jenny's Percheron mare she would like to breed to Raven.The laundry room is CLEAN! It really is a good thing to have company once and a while. This room just gets left each time with hundreds of unmated socks, old hats and gloves, sheets, blankets, sleeping bags that need washing and many coats that were suppose to be washed and put away for winter. Now that spring and summer are gone and fall is officially here, I guess the coats better be washed SOON.Sams Club was next on the list to buy the food for dinner tonight. We planned on having lasagna, not because of an engagement, just because it is easy to cook. I get to Sam's shop what seems like an hour but really only a half hour, spend $160.00, get out to the car and realize everything BUT lasagna was purchased. Lots of fresh fruit, paper goods, laundry soap, dishwashing soap, dog food, and deserts but I forgot the lasagna. Back into the store for 4 pans I went. They are now in the oven cooking.

Pulling up to the farm, there are 2 yearlings standing in the drive waiting impatiently for SOMEONE to open the gate. It was actually hard to get out of the car with Ciera and Valiant surrounding the door. How sweet to be so wanted! There were 4 yearlings in the cabin field and only 2 at the farm so the concern is WHERE are Chloe and Evan. A hike over to the cabin is in order where the gate is discovered unlatched but shut although there are no horses in sight. That meant a hike down the cabin field, and there they are lying down taking a nap but jump up and come when they see me walking. Of course they need to be rewarded for coming so they got their grain early. This is a mystery though, how 2 were out, 2 were in with the gate shut but not latched. Probably one that will never be solved. Mike emailed these pictures this morning of his grandchildren and the boys. He thinks this is Evan and Valiant but there is really no way to tell, it could be Ciera and one of the boys. Below is Willow getting checked over.And Willow's brother Tate meeting one of the horses.Hard to decide who is cuter the kids or the horses.Steven Marchal is taking Ciera, Valiant and Evan out to Middle Grove this morning. We were actually shocked at how good the girls looked by being there all summer. Their muscle tone is fantastic which comes from being with a herd of horses running up and down the hills and swimming in the lakes. The boys will learn to mind their manners around the crabby mares.Steven has been working with Rohan and called this morning to report he is quietly going in and out of both trailers. He does wonders with the young ones. Rohan was just weaned a few days ago. Steven has also been hired to work with Chloe before she leaves. The owner would like her leading, loading, cross tie and giving all 4 feet quietly. The estimated date of pickup for her is Oct. 13th.For the pictures we have decided it is Valiant on the left and Evan on the right above Willow and it is Ciera with Tate.

Friday, September 24, 2010

We had quite a bit of rain last night and it was still sprinkling when I left for the farm this morning. Poor Emma was not welcome to come, no wet stinky dog in the clean car. We had a good group for the walk this morning, Ruth, Rebekah, Rachel, Joan, Diane, mom and even Tara and her daughter Renee joined in for a bit.After the walk mom cooked us a wonderful breakfast, farm fresh eggs, sausage, whole wheat toast with butter and jam, fresh squeezed orange juice and fragrant hot coffee mmmm no better start to the day.Rachel Sauder has hired Steven to start ground working her sweet little Xena that won't be caught. The truck was ready by 3:00pm and the bill came to only $148.27. Hopefully there is nothing else wrong with it but if there is Rhoda is only taking it to Taylor, MO, 3 hours away so the towing wouldn't be the end of the world. A check was written to Gary Byerline, then quickly the money was transferred from Mark's account to mine to cover the check just in case Gary ran straight to the bank.We had one issue come up that I didn't know how to answer. Lori from Canada asked what assurance could be given that if she wires the money that we will send the horse? To my knowledge no one has ever asked that and I stumbled around with an answer telling her we have been in business for 8 years and never had a complaint. Mike was consulted and his answer was to give her references from anyone in Hanna City that knows us. Samantha's FHANA papers were sent in for transfer. FHANA raised the price of transfers to $85.00 which must be paid by the seller, this is very disappointing. The lady that bought Samantha MUST join FHANA, paying $110.00 to receive the papers, seems like quite a racket. Even if one belongs to FHANA to register a foal is expensive. The registration fee is $225 (by North American, FPS approved stallion), $285 (European, FPS approved stallion.) Plus other Kur expenses along with the fact that one must use a licensed Vet to microchip the foal. Sure makes me appreciate Friesian Heritage Horse registry. $40.00 and done, NO EXTRA cost, no yearly fee. Hoerr vet clinic was called to make an appointment to ultrasound Ribbon, Jenis and Ylse along with health certificates for Rohan and Chloe. Dr. Hoerr is coming Monday morning October 4th. I'm praying Jenis and Ylse are in foal, Ribbon, if she is fine if not fine.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Chloe will be heading to Edmonton Alberta Canada. Her new owner, named Lori, will be wiring her purchase price on Monday. When the pictures were sent she emailed that they made her heart happy, when the video link was sent she wrote: She is perfect!We are always pleased when one of our horses find a home were they are considered PERFECT!Funny, the bill for the skid steer will almost be covered by the sale of Chloe.We had a wonderful group at Bible study tonight, Mark led the group assisted by Howard. Everyone participated and it ran a little longer than it was suppose to but no one complained, we were all just so glad to be back. During the study, my phone started vibrating. I unzipped the side pocket to slip the phone out and put the purse back down on the floor. Howard and Nancy's little dog started checking out the purse, put her nose into the open pocket and started taking dollar bills out of the purse, running over to her bed and pushing them under the cushion, then she would come back for another dollar. I finally told Howard, "your dog is stealing my money!" and showed him her stash. They could hardly believe their eyes, they got the dog from their daughter Sally, which makes me wonder just what did Sally teach her? Little Zadie is the smartest dog I've EVER seen.

The repair bill for the skid steer is $2653.00 shudder, shudder. The truck is in the repair shop with a leak on the back differential manifold. Not even sure what that is! The computer would not share with the other computer so the music for the video was very limited.Once the video was made it went somewhere so fast that it just couldn't be found. After struggling for over an hour to find it, just made another video and this time made sure it would save to desk top.But... this will still be a good day, Addyson is over for a couple hours and tonight is our first Titus Bible study at Howard and Nancy Herman's house. Really looking forward to that.

Steven showed up at Bridlewood to pick up my trailer and haul it to the Hanna City farm as the truck is in the shop. He stayed around to help shoot the video. We were going to haul Chloe into Bridlewood but decided the cabin field would work. We were just finishing up when Mike came home for lunch and got in the act. The boys were moved into the cabin field and the little boys (Rohan and Caden) were moved into the small shelter. The laundry is not done, the house is not clean, there are 30 people coming for dinner Saturday so tomorrow better be a stay at home, cook and clean day.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Below is a picture taken this morning of cleaning up Chloe after our long walk in to the Middle Grove farm. She is just beautiful!The walk was cut short this morning so some horses could be moved. We got a lot of rain and needed to get the mares off the cabin field so Mika and Bunni were moved in with the herd, Jenis and Ylse & Indy moved into the breeding shed paddock, Sanna in with Izadora, Rohan and Caden put in a stall while Velvet was hauled out to Middle Grove by Steven's monster truck.Steven was temped to drive in and actually started but got to the first bad area and had to turn around. We led Velvet in the rest of the way. No horses were in sight which meant a hike, a LONG hike. We called, Velvet called and we walked, all the way to the far valley couldn't see any horses and started back. All of a sudden the thunder of many hooves galloping were heard. The horses came at a flat out run EXCEPT Ciera, Chloe, and Aragon. Sangria leading them all to the lake where they jumped in then thundered back towards the far valley.We started to be concerned about the missing yearlings. My thought was all the lightning during the night what if those three were hit. Nope they were just napping in the far woods. Ciera was haltered and back we went again. We noticed Paris had a wound on her neck which made the decision whether or not to bring her easy. We were just loading up Ciera, Chloe and Paris when here comes John on his 4 wheeler. I think someone called him that there was a truck and horse trailer in the drive and he came to make sure no one was stealing any of the horses. Neighbors are GREAT. We made it back to the Hanna City farm and the girls were cleaned up and put in with the boys. They were all glad to see each other.Ciera was cleaned up first and she is just so beautiful of course we needed to get some new pictures of her. She was also sticked at 15 hands. Amazing to think she is that tall at 17 months old.She does not look like a yearling.Chloe was also sticked and is 14.3 hands at 15 months.Tomorrow Chloe will be brought to Bridlewood for a video then taken back out to the farm.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Cathie Trent teaching 3 in one lesson at Bridlewood stables. Ponies used were Shade, Romeo and Duke. Below is Danielle on Shade.Ellie on Romeo.And Clair on Duke.Cathie has wonderful lesson ponies and is the best teacher in the entire tri state area in our opinion. She takes beginners as in unrated in Pony Club to B ratings. She focuses on flat work and starts jumping when the child is ready. If your child wants to start riding, get him or her the best start possible!

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A Short Profile Paragraph

I am the 3rd child of my parents in a line-up of 11. I was the oldest girl so grew up the boss of the house. I have 3 brothers and 7 sisters. We grew up on a small farm on Baer Rd which is just on the outskirts of Peoria in a very large house, big enough to hold all 11 of us plus my parents and numerous foster children. My dad, Paul Meister was the owner of Baer Greenhouse on Baer Rd until he sold that and started Meister Brother's, a Heating and Air conditioning business which my husband and I now own and he started Meister Electric which my brother Spark owns today. My mom is Rhoda and was a stay at home mom. That's not to say she didn't work, it is a lot of work raising us and hundreds of fosters children. Mom is a great cook. She always loved horses and passed that love along to me buying our first pony for us when I was 6 years old. Our parents were members in the Apostolic Church, and brought us up to love the Lord and appreciate our church. We all gave our hearts to Jesus, gave our testimony before the congregation and were baptized, me at age 16. I married my husband at the age of 22 in our Peoria church and we have raised 5 children. All of our children also have given their hearts to Jesus and all are now married. We have 11 grandchildren so far. My sister Diane and I started Horsemeister Inc with the purchase Raven. I love this job, enjoy the horses.